The Purposeful Primitive: From Fat and Flaccid to lean and Powerful-Using the Primordial Laws of Fitness to Trigger Inevitable

I learned so much from this book about health and fitness, sports psychology, and nutrition.My only complaints would be that it strictly talks about men the entire book and never specifies how anything applies to women. The author frequently told personal stories which didn't always relate to the topic-- I skipped through lots of that. Some parts exude fragile masculinity, especially his rants where he makes fun of "politically correct sissies", so much that it became amusing and humorous.On the other hand, I feel a lot more confident and informed to continue my fitness journey, and it was just the kind of book I was looking for. I'm sure the world of powerlifting and meat heads doesn't produce many literary geniuses, but this book came pretty close. There was no question the author was qualified in his expertise, and he explained intricate theories very well.The section on nutrition was nothing extraordinary, but still surpassed most information you find nowadays on the topic. It was very refreshing to learn from someone who has had decades of experience in the field, rather than from the multitude of novice personal trainers on instagram that are spewing out loads of misinformation.

The masters of iron and masters of nutrition parts were great. The masters of cardio was pretty bare-bones but understandable given Gallaghers background. Very good

Being a fan of Olympic Weightlifting and Power lifting, I really enjoyed the historical perspective of this book. The author does a great job of educating the reader about some of the greats in the sport. There are also some interesting articles on diet and the mental aspects of the weight training. Overall, this is a very complete book.The author also provides the reader with numerous training templates that were used by the greats or based off of how the greats worked out. I found this to be interesting on an academic level as well as useful. Only have two days a week to work out? There is a program for you. Are you new to weight training? There is a program for you. In fact, Coach Gallagher has included programs that should cover almost any situation.The only reason that this book is getting 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt that the instructions on how to perform the lifts were a little bit lacking.Brass tacks: if you are serious about weight training this book needs to be in your library.

The book has a lot of great information in it, and the author goes out of his way to provide a well rounded training program, with background to help you understand it. He also includes many anecdotes about the weight lifters he's known in the past.My only complaint lies with the writing itself. There are many points where two or three sentences from the end of one paragraph will be repeated in the next paragraph. At other times he'll repeat himself using slightly different wording, but adding no new information. I've also run into a few instances where sentences and concepts are brought up, in the middle of a paragraph that is about another concept, with no connection being made between the two concepts. The author presents himself as a fitness writer, and to have modeled his writing after efficient writers of past decades, but that doesn't come through in this particular book.That being said, I'd still recommend this book to anyone looking to achieve greater fitness through free weights.

Sometimes otherwise successful endeavours are torpedoed by one fatal flaw.Take this book. It is at once a personal memoir by a highly regarded trainer, a profile of some of the greatest powerlifters and bodybuilders of the past five decades, a dietary guide, and a training manual. The core concept - that the men profiled are "purposeful primitives", i.e., men who have achieved spectacular size and strength because they have discovered and followed "primordial laws of fitness" - is instinctively attractive and inspiring. The prose is taut, clear, and engaging. There are even quite a few photos to keep things visually engaging.So what is the fatal flaw? The inclusion of a fawning piece on Dorian Yates. The most important muscle-building "primordial law" Yates followed in his bodybuilding career was *to regularly jam a hypodermic needle filled with lab-created, muscle-boosting hormones into his butt, and squeeze*. Needless to say, there is absolutely nothing "primordial" about that. I'm *not* saying Yates didn't work hard in the gym. It is just that without the 'roids, he would not have looked anything like he ended up looking, nor would he have ever been able to achieve the feats Gallagher slavers over. Gallagher knows this perfectly well, but never admits it, which is about as weird as including him in the first place. It is also debatable to what extent workout advice gleaned from the regimen of a gonzo juicer is helpful to normal, natural lifters.When I pick up a book called "The Purposeful Primitive", I want to read about purposeful primitives - not *pretend* purposeful primitives like Yates, who was so dependent on synthetic chemicals for his gains, that he's probably inflicted permanent liver, kidney, and testicular damage on himself. Besides, on principle, I don't see why guys like that should be heralded in the same book as clean guys like Paul Anderson, or held up as models for aspiring young lifters fighting the temptation to start injecting.Just my two cents.

This has everything. It has cool stories, good programs, and a sense of accomplishment if you can get through it all.

One of the great classics.Not only are you getting to know some of the masters of iron and their methods.Not only do you get a tour through a sizeable part of the history of strength sports.You are very entertained during your trip.I actually still read parts of this book for entertainment and not alot of books, especially not alot of training books, warrant that.Gym mullets, geeks, lasses and rats rejoice! Because this is the closest thing we Iron heads get to a bible.

A great breakdown of all things fitness.If you're willing to take the time to apply some of the knowledge you might just make the change you're looking for.

Huge resource and the writing is of a high standard. It isn’t easy to make what is kind of a text book into a page turner but I read it cover to cover over a few nights. Marty definitely knows his stuff but are you disciplined enough to follow it?

Excellent

Goes behind the popular training regimes and combines science with results. As an experienced martial artist, I wish I had access to the mind training as a competition player. I will, however, use visualisation, etc when sitting my 4th Dan exam in kendo.

Rambles on a bit, but some parts are interesting and informative. Needs editing down by at least half in order to make it relevant